If Smart City is to be transformed into a "speculative land grab" rather than the hi-tech development promised, permits should be revoked and the entire tract of land retendered, Din L-Art Ħelwa said today. 

In a statement, the NGO said that it had previously held back from criticising the project due to claims that it would bring 5,600 jobs to Malta, drag the country into the world of hi-tech development and transform a derelict industrial estate. 

All of those stated objectives have however now been cast into doubt, with the promised jobs having failed to materialise and talk of speculators making "huge financial gains to the detriment of the Exchequer - the people of Malta who are the ultimate owners of the land," the NGO noted. 

Smart City, first announced a decade ago, has so far failed to deliver on its grandiose promises and consistently fallen behind on its stated employment targets. 

Site developers have now filed applications to drastically change the site's masterplan, doubling building height to 68 metres in parts and prioritising the project's real estate component. 

READ: Foreign investors fuming over talk of Smart City changes

Local real estate agencies are already advertising apartments in a high-end development dubbed The Shoreline, despite the Planning Authority having yet to begin considering changes to the Smart City master plan.  

Talk of changes to the plan immediately prompted the developers' lobby into action, with the Malta Development Association saying that changes should only be approved "if the cost of the land to the developers is increased substantially and equitably to match current market prices." 

Such manoeuvring has not sat well with Din L-Art Ħelwa, which in its statement called on the government to either ensure Smart City's original remit - that of creating a high-tech ICT hub - or else revoke permits. 

"Should a change of use be required then the huge area of seafront land be retendered after due planning process as to what the best use of the land should be and whether the footprint should be reduced," the NGO said. The principle of using Government land for speculative purposes should be stopped.

"The principle of using Government land for speculative purposes should be stopped."

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